


Strange Beings, Stranger Bonds

by a_denim_wrapped_nightmare



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Angel!Ryan, Based on a Tumblr Post, Demon!Shane, Gen, Very Mild Violence, also i know nothing of building design, except the swearing, i doubt that people swear in saturday morning cartoons, like it's on par with a saturday morning cartoon, please forgive my architecture sins, there's a nameless creature in there too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-06-30 16:00:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15755028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_denim_wrapped_nightmare/pseuds/a_denim_wrapped_nightmare
Summary: The elemental had them cornered. Its massive, degraded form blocked their path to the splintered remains of the only door in the room. Behind them, there was only a fireplace and two ornate windows, and behind those was nothing but summer rain and a fall from the highest floor of the mansion. The moonlight shining through the glass illuminated the creature’s battered scales and its crooked teeth, twisted into a grin that hungered for flesh.All and all, they were having a pretty shitty Tuesday night.





	Strange Beings, Stranger Bonds

**Author's Note:**

> So this was inspired by  this post , from en-sam-malas on tumblr. Kudos to her! 
> 
> This is actually the first thing I'm posting on AO3. Originally I posted it on tumblr. Hopefully here it'll get a little more exposure. It's not a long story, but bigger projects should be on their way soon.
> 
> Anywho, here's the fic. Hope you enjoy!

The elemental had them cornered. Its massive, degraded form blocked their path to the splintered remains of the only door in the room. Behind them, there was only a fireplace and two ornate windows, and behind those was nothing but summer rain and a fall from the highest floor of the mansion. The moonlight shining through the glass illuminated the creature’s battered scales and its crooked teeth, twisted into a grin that hungered for flesh. 

All and all, they were having a pretty shitty Tuesday night. 

“Look,” said Shane. “Just let us go, and we’ll act like this never happened.”

“That’s fair, right?” Ryan added. “We don’t want to bother you any more, so if you’d please step aside for just-”

**_“SILENCE!”_ **

The beast’s roar shook the floorboards. 

**“Did you think you could disturb** **_me_ ** **, trespass on** **_my territory_ ** **, and sneak away** **_unpunished_ ** **?”**

“...Kinda?”

“ _ Shane! _ We promise, sir, it’ll never happen again! Tell you what - as compensation, we'll go out and bring back some fish for you. I think that’s the best solution for everyone here. Wouldn’t you agree?”

The creature roared again, this time brandishing its massive webbed hands. 

“I’ll take it that’s a no,” muttered Shane. “Guess we’ll have to do this the hard way.”

“Shane, wait-”

Shane had already begun to transform. His bones cracked, back arching as two bat-like wings burst from it. An arrow-tipped tail snaked its way through the air, and horns emerged from his head. For a moment, his eyes flashed a molten-metal red, before settling into a deep black. 

Shane stared the beast down. At this point, most creatures would back off. But this elemental, it seemed, was bolder than most. Whatever it had become over the eons, whatever things it had seen and been subject to... it wasn’t fazed. 

**“How cute. The little demon wants to fight.”**

The elemental lunged forward. Shane raised his arm, widened his stance and-  _ shit _ , it had him in its grip. His arms and wings were suddenly pinned to his torso, and his legs were lifted off the ground. In hindsight, picking a fight with a creature whose arm was the size of his whole body wasn’t the best idea. Shane swiped at it with his tail. But every hit skidded off without leaving a hint of damage behind. Fucking scales. So much tougher than they look. 

“ _ That’s enough! _ ”

Out of the corner of his eye, Shane saw Ryan. The nervous smile he wore for negotiating had vanished. Now he was getting _pissed._

“We can still end this quietly. I don’t want anyone here getting hurt. Not him. Not even you. Now let. Him. Go.”

**“Or what?”**

“Or you'll have to deal with me when I’m _angry_.”

The beast laughed. It was a sickening guffaw of a laugh, and as it echoed through the mansion, Shane felt the grip around him tighten. Breathing became even harder. Any tighter, and a rib could break. 

“You don’t want that.  _ Trust me. _ ”

**“I’m so** **_horrified_ ** **,”** it said in a mocking tone. It took a lumbering step towards Ryan, who stood his ground. 

“Hey, listen,” croaked Shane. “You  _ really _ don’t wanna fuck with him. He’s playing nice now, but if you don’t knock it off, it’s gonna get ugly.”

The elemental ignored him. 

“I’m being serious, buddy.”

Ignored again. 

“I’ll give you this, you’re tough, even for a- what are you, exactly? An undine, maybe? Stronger than your average nymph, that’s for sure. But trust me, not even something like you stands a chance against an  _ angel. _ ”

The beast stopped dead in its tracks. 

And again, burst into laughter. 

**“ANGEL?”**

It reached forward and grabbed Ryan, same as it did Shane. Shane stretched his tail as far as he could, aiming for the vulnerable face, but it proved out of reach. 

**“Did you** **_honestly_ ** **believe that’d work? Do you think I’m** **_blind?_ ** _**”** _ It turned, staring Ryan dead in the eyes.  **“Do you think that I’d for a** **_moment_ ** **believe that a** **_puny_ ** **little human like** **_you_ ** **could ever be a genuine** **_threat_ ** _**?”** _

And in the span of a few frantic heartbeats, it pulled Ryan back and tossed him through the window. 

As shards of glass fell, tinging on the floor, the elemental’s attention turned back to Shane. 

**“Is _that_ what you call that an angel?”**

And Shane, still struggling to catch his breath, stifled his fear. In spite of it all, a tiny smirk wormed its way onto his face. 

The ground shook. 

So did the rest of the mansion. The elemental’s rampaging had shaken a good number of objects on shelves. This new force sent them falling to the floor. Throughout the many rooms, paintings trembled and furniture quavered. 

Shane and the elemental both looked to the windows. Where there was once gentle moonlight, now a brilliant searing light radiated in. 

They looked up when they heard something cracking above. The sound of wood snapping split though the air. The walls themselves stretched, and stretched further, and the ceiling contorted more and more, until it broke away from the top of the walls and rose high into the air. Raindrops invaded the room, but they couldn’t see the water falling at first. What they did see was the overwhelming light. 

The instant it knew what was doing all this, any smug confidence the elemental still had drained from its face. 

Holding the roof in his hands was a glowing titan. Taller than the mansion and brighter than a fire. From his back protruded wings covered in golden feathers, and his eyes shone with the glow of plasma. 

And though his true form was strange and magnificent, both Shane and the elemental recognized him. 

As the creature looked to Shane in horror, the demon gave it the shit-eating grin to end all shit-eating grins. 

“Yeah. _That’s_ what I call an angel.”

The elemental let Shane go. As he hit the floor and hissed the pain in his chest away, he saw one of Ryan’s hands reach down into the room. The elemental rushed for the door. And, giving the beast a taste of its own medicine, Ryan grabbed it. 

He lifted the twisted undine up to his eye level. While he said nothing, how he  _ felt _ was abundantly clear. He stared at the creature, as if judging it. Still, all three of them had a pretty good idea of what was about to happen. 

The elemental cried out. Shane let himself weakly laugh, much as it hurt. Ryan stayed silent. 

Finally, he pulled back, and with the force that only a pissed-off angel could deliver, launched the beast far into the sky. 

Shane tried to stand. But his legs, too preoccupied with shaking to be of use, sent him falling again. 

_ “Shane!” _

“I’m okay,” Shane coughed out. “Ryan, I’m okay.” 

He tried to stand again - and again, his legs failed him. He fell, this time collapsing on something warm, something soft. His eyes shut tight. 

_ “Shane, your wings...” _

Oh, right. He’d almost forgotten how much those hurt. A stinging ache made just moving them painful. 

“Sore. They’re sore. I’ll live.”

Shane felt something brush against one wing, then the other. The pain faded - not fully, but enough to be tolerable. He counted himself lucky that this party of two had a healer. 

His eyes cracked open. Ryan’s light was intense, to say the least. But Shane could handle it. True form or not, that was still his friend in there. Even without pupils, those giant eyes carried concern and caring. And at that moment, Shane was gently being held at level with them. 

“Hey, Ryan?”

_ “What?” _

“Thanks.” 

Shane lifted a hand, and lazily let it slap on the surface he lay on. 

“That, uh. That was supposed to be a high-five.”

Ryan smiled with his eyes. 

Eventually, Shane felt himself being lowered. He let his wings and tail and horns slip away, before reluctantly rolling off Ryan’s hand and onto the wet grass. The light began to fade, and soon enough, Ryan too was his normal self again. 

“Well, that sucked.”

Shane nodded. “We did kick that guy’s ass, though.”

“It kicked  _ your _ ass, too.”

“It threw  _ your _ ass out a window.”

“And I threw  _ its _ ass out to sea.”

“No kidding. Lesson learned, don’t call Ryan Bergara ‘puny’.”

“Shane, I- I didn’t-” Ryan stumbled over his words. “It was hurting you! What, you think I’d go all Old Testament because it insulted my  _ height? _ ”

Shane pretended to think hard for a moment. 

“Yes.”

“Shane.” He crossed his arms. “I am an  _ angel _ . I’m above that kind of pettiness.”

“Sometimes. Usually you’re not above much at all.”

“Don’t you _fucking_ dare.”

“Ryan. You are an  _ angel _ . Aren’t you supposed to be above swearing?”

“Oh, you piece of shit, I will _smite you_ -”

And just like that, things were back to normal. 

 


End file.
